Project Mercury Astronauts Named

April 2, 1959

Chosen from a field of 110 candidates, seven test pilots—Air Force Capts. L. Gordon Cooper Jr., Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, and Donald K. “Deke” Slayton; Navy Lt. Cmdrs. Walter M. Schirra Jr. and Alan B. Shepard Jr., and Lt. M. Scott Carpenter; and Marine Lt. Col. John H. Glenn Jr.—are announced as the Project Mercury astronauts.

Air Force Honors EOD Community with ‘Visible Recognition’ of New Beret

Oct. 5, 2026

Air Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians and officers will soon join an exclusive club of troops allowed to sport a beret marking their special community and service.

Vandenberg Eyes New Launch Support Facilities, Possible On-Site Manufacturing

Oct. 5, 2026

The Space Force is looking for industry feedback on its plans to create a new “Mission Development Zone” at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., to support launch providers with space for additional payload processing capacity, test and assembly facilities, and potentially rocket and spacecraft manufacturing infrastructure.

Northrop’s Talon Blue Collaborative Combat Aircraft Makes First Flight

Oct. 5, 2026

Northrop Grumman’s Talon Blue YFQ-48A Collaborative Combat Aircraft took its first flight Oct. 3, heightening the competition for the Air Force’s future combat fleet.

As Air Force Goes Big on Autonomy, Are Cargo Drones Next?

Oct. 5, 2026

The Air Force’s plans to field 1,000 semi-autonomous fighter and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance drones within just a few years made headlines at AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber conference last month. But beyond the service’s signature Collaborative Combat Aircraft and Massed Modular Aircraft programs, a half-dozen or so firms are pitching…

All B-1 Bombers Leave RAF Fairford in Hasty Departure from UK Base

Oct. 4, 2026

All 12 American bombers deployed in Britain rapidly returned to the U.S. on Oct. 4 following security concerns about a potential Iranian threat to their base in the U.K.

Space Development Agency to Launch 21 More Data Transport Satellites Next Week

Oct. 2, 2026

The Space Development Agency is set to launch 21 Tranche 1 data transport satellites on Oct. 5—its fourth Tranche 1 mission since last fall and the first to carry Northrop Grumman-built satellites.

B-52s Get Prototype System for Beyond-Line-of-Sight Communications

Oct. 2, 2026

Air Force Global Strike Command has fielded a new prototype system for beyond-line-of-sight communications on the B-52H Stratofortress in a step forward for modernizing the Cold War-era heavy bomber.

7th Air Force Ends ‘Super Squadron’ Test, Returns F-16s to Kunsan

Oct. 2, 2026

After a two-year experiment that created F-16 “Super Squadrons” at Osan Air Base just 50 miles away from North Korea, the U.S. Air Force has returned some of the fighters to its other base on the peninsula.

Air Force and Space Force Shooting for Historic Recruiting Goals in 2027

Oct. 2, 2026

The Air Force adjusted its fiscal 2026 recruiting goal down by a few hundred enlisted Airmen due to higher-than-expected retention and the number of available training slots—but it is aiming high in fiscal 2027 with its biggest goal for the Active-Duty Air Force in nearly 25 years, and the Space…

Project Mercury Astronauts Named

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